The Delhi Sultanate and Padmavat | Bharat Ek Khoj Hindi TV Serial On DVD | Personal Reviews

Episode #26 of Hindi TV Serial Bharat Ek Khoj explores the tale of Allauddin Khilji further. And, of course, when you talk about Khilji, you definitely remember the folklore of Padmavat. Especially, when these days there is a huge controversy running about a movie named Padmavati by well-known filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali, you will find it interesting to (re)visit the tale of Rana Ratansen, Padmavati and Allauddin Khilji as mentioned in the book Discover Of India by Pt. Nehru.

Book Plot:

The initial segment of the episode took forward the story of Allauddin Khilji, where it was left in the previous episode.

While Allauddin’s rule was not free of controversy, his administrative capabilities also need to be considered. With the progress of the episode, we see that he is trying to implement the rule as per his understanding. During one conversation with a Kaji, he himself accepts that he is not so literate and he doesn’t know the rules or guidelines mentioned in the holy books of Islam. He does the thing which he found logical to do. The episode explores how he implemented some strict and often considered as brutal, rules for the citizens. At the same time, he considered himself above all the laws and used to withdraw any amount he think of, for his personal stuff.

He had around 1600 women in his palace!

After showing Khilji’s way of functioning, the episode then focuses on Chittod (aka Chittor). Rana Ratansen was ruling the state of Mevad those days. From this point onwards the content is highly inspired by Padmavat, a folklore from Rajasthan.

Based on an incident, Rana gets angry with Raghav Chetan and scolds him. Rana’s wife, queen Padmini aka Padmavati consider this as a signal of something ill to happen in future. She tries settling things with Raghav Chetan and even gifts him a jewel. Raghav Chetan, however, was blind with his fury and he does what he shouldn’t. He went to Delhi to meet Khilji.

Being a ruler Khilji used to analyze people at a glance. So despite Raghav’s disguise as a saint, Khilji knew that he is someone who came with a motive. When Raghav asks Sultan to attack Chittod, he simply refuses and even scolds Raghav when he talked ill about Rana. However, when Raghav told him about five precious possessions of Rana, and especially about Padmini, Khilji decided to attack Chittod!

What happens then after, is the rest of the story.

In addition to the content of Padmavat, the episode also explores the time of other Tughlak rulers briefly.

It is worth to note that Public Resource Organization made this entire episode available on YouTube. So you can watch it there for free.

Views And Reviews:

Folklores are respected a lot in its native area. Often, we find folklores are integrated with something beyond reality. And yet, the trust of the people in something extraordinary keeps them alive and popular. The beauty of Padmini, the queen of Chittod, is considered as ultimate. She is respected by the people living there till date. Rana Ratansen may not be the most famous ruler of Rajasthan, but he holds his own place in the history.

The real heroes of the story, however, are Gora and Badal, the uncle-nephew duo. They tried to perform something unthinkable. The casting director’s faith is proven true by most of the cast members.

Who can think of Rajendra Gupta playing Rana? But he plays it here and plays it convincingly. He may not have the persona of a battle-ready king, but he sure has the acting capability making him slip into the role quite easily and effectively. Om Puri is superb as Khilji. Seema Kelkar is good as Padmini. Rakesh Shrivastava is not convincing as Raghav Chetan though. There are some actors like S. M. Zaheer played smaller roles in this episode.

The background music is simply superb. The folklore and folk songs are so nicely sung and recorded that they impress the viewer.

The wardrobe is taken good care of. And so does the sets. Rather than showing something larger than the life, the makers stuck to realistic and research-based stuff. And it makes the episode more authentic. I want to talk about many aspects and incidents explored in this episode, but to avoid spoilers, I cannot.

The first-rate dialogs make this episode even more worthy. There is not a single dull moment in the episode. There are no fuzzy camera angles and no slow motion scenes studded with SFX or VFX. And yet, you will never feel a requirement of any such thing. The simple and linear execution of the incidents is the major positive factor of this episode.

The way, a brave but straightforward warrior can be deceived by a losing clever opponent is explored quite effectively and it teaches us a lesson. Also, tit for tat attitude is often required and Gora-Badal teaches us the same.

When we talk about the Trojan Horse and Troy or movies like 300, we often don’t know or don’t care about exploring our own history to find even better tales.

While the episode is available to watch for free on Youtube, I personally suggest keeping a DVD set of this TV Series. It will later become your possession, you will be proud of.

Summary:

Definitely a worth watching episode. Nice performances and good execution never let you miss any technological marvel while watching it.

• Chittodgarh – WikiPedia article
• Rana Ratan Sinh – WikiPedia article
• Padmavat – WikiPedia article
• Rani Padmini – WikiPedia article
• Allauddin Khilji – WikiPedia article
• Malik Muhammad Jayasi – WikiPedia article
• Chittod Nee RanGarjana : RoopRani Padmini – A Gujarati book
• The Delhi Sultanate and Prithviraj Raso Part 1
• The Delhi Sultanate and Prithviraj Raso Part 2

Did you watch this TV Serial? Are you going to buy it’s DVD Set? (It is available in two versions, economic edition and premium edition)? Do share your thoughts via comments below. And yes, if you like this article, don’t forget to share with your friends and loved ones on various social networks 🙂 And yes, watch out for next episode review for Bharat Ek Khoj.
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